Research

Garden with Your Kids
"Gardening with children can be a powerful nutrition lesson. Kids get to learn where food comes from, how to grow it properly and, best of all, kids tend to eat (or at least try) what they grow.  The National Gardening Association, which provides support to community and school gardening programs, surveyed garden program leaders and found kids improve in the following characteristics:

• Environmental attitudes: 94%
• Self-confidence: 90%
• Social skills: 90%
• Attitude towards school: 86%
• Community spirit: 84%
• Leadership skills: 81%
• Volunteerism: 78%
• Nutritional attitudes: 69%
• Scholastic achievement: 67%
• Motor skills: 63%

Starting a garden with a child does not have to be a huge project or cost a lot of money. There are plenty of resources on the Internet, your local library or your local community gardening extension program. The point is to get out there, start digging in the dirt and see what you can grow together."

~from www.eatright.org

Fight Childhood Obesity: Give to your local food bank

"A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that food insecure households with hunger was associated with higher obesity rates in girls ages 2 - 5 years old. An association was not found in food insecure households without hunger. Food insecurity is defined as an uncertain or limited ability to obtain adequate amounts of food and nutrients in socially acceptable ways. In other words not knowing when or where your next meal will come from. Food insecurity with hunger takes this definition further to the point at which meals are regularly missed or one meal may need to be spread through out the day. Food is insufficient to sustain normal physical function and activities.

Given the public health concern of childhood obesity, many community outreach programs exist within schools and after school programs to teach kids to make healthy food choices and exercise more. There are legislated mandates to teach nutrition in schools. It seems everyone wants in on the action to prevent childhood obesity. But how does all this education help if the families of these children can't afford and don't have access to healthy foods in the first place?

You can help fight childhood obesity by helping to make healthy food available. Donate to your local food bank or help tend a community garden. It doesn't matter how much one knows about nutrition, if nutritious foods are not available or affordable, people will not eat them."

~from eatright.org